The Dreaded N-Word

Bowdlerizers at the Barricades

    

    Up at the Odditorium (Western University) there was recently a horrific, terrible and traumatic incident in a classroom in the Arts & Humanities Department. An instructor uttered the “N-word” in a classroom.

   As an older white fellow I admit that I don’t quite understand what happened and am reluctant to write about it. I do so only because I am trying to come up with the answer to two questions: Was the magnitude of the crime that great and is there not anyone on campus who will come to the defence of the poor chap (I hope that word is okay) who uttered the word?

  I also don’t understand why the focus of the seminar, in which the word was mentioned, was on the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but as an occasional reader of The Journal of Popular Culture, I will let that pass. But, if the instructor was, as he says, attempting to demonstrate “how a prime-time television sit-com achieved significant critiques of both class and race in America”, I find it difficult to believe that he spoke the word in a hateful way. Was his face painted black?

  If the unfortunate fellow (I hope that word is okay) has made it this far in University College, I doubt that he (if that word is okay) is likely to be a member of the Klan. I noticed that the guy (okay?) is also a part-time faculty member, which means that he is probably an adjunct, which suggests that he should have some awareness of the notion of servitude. He did apologize quickly and profusely and you can read his complete confession below. Let us hope that he is not punished further by having to teach a course next year on either Twain or Conrad.

   Perhaps the crime is greater than I thought since the President quickly appointed an anti-racism working group “reporting directly to him, after a professor’s use of the N-word in a lecture caught media attention and wide condemnation from major student groups at Western University.” 

   Some students have suggested that that is not enough.  “Western needs to be doing more. Screening speeches prior to convocation ceremonies or, in the most recent case, educating professors on what they can and cannot say in a classroom setting are preventative measures Western could, and should, be taking to ensure everyone feels comfortable on our campus.”

  

    It is likely that the working group will become a fully fledged task force requiring a new Vice President to police what professors say in seminars and that new counsellors will be required to deal with those students suffering from PTSD. 

   Judging from the student publication, The Gazette, Mr. Wenaus probably doesn’t feel very safe. As far as I can tell his fellow professors have been less than generous (one could have said niggardly) in offering support, but then the principle of tenure was not threatened and there was no need to come to his defence. 

   I gather that the student who initiated the complaints has received some obnoxious anonymous emails. Perhaps that is because those who might wish to discuss the incident openly don’t feel safe and comfortable in doing so. 

   Here is the complete apology. Decide for yourself.

          English Lecturer Issues Apology for Using Racist Language in Class

During a class earlier this week, Department of English lecturer Andrew Wenaus chose to use language that was offensive to those in attendance and not in keeping with Western’s values. Mr. Wenaus has expressed his regrets to the university and has requested that the following letter of apology be shared with the campus community. Any students who would like to discuss this further are encouraged to contact Michael Milde, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. 

Dear Western Community, 

On Wednesday 23 October, our class watched the first episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The purpose of the lecture was to demonstrate how a prime-time television sit-com achieved significant critiques of both class and race in America. 

I wanted to demonstrate how the writing of the show is haunted by a history of exploitation, violence, and terror. Near the opening of the episode, Will Smith encounters Geoffrey the butler. Geoffrey customarily refers to Will as “Master William” which causes Will discomfort, reminding him of the history of plantations and slavery. Later in the episode, Will refers to Geoffrey as a “home butler.” Given Will’s discomfort with Geoffrey serving him and the reference to plantations earlier in the episode, I mentioned that, aside from a play on the term “homeboy”, he may be expressing an insult that historically instigated “class divisions” between slaves who worked the fields and slaves who worked in the house. In articulating this historical context that was used to refer to one of these two classes of slaves, I used the term “House N*****” to inform the students of the disturbing terminology that was used during slavery.  

While the term had been referred to as “N” when it came up in class prior, my use of the full term came spontaneously. I immediately regretted my words and there was some discussion of my choice in class, but I could have handled the situation more thoughtfully. After the class, I discussed the incident further with a couple students and I have since reached out to some other students as well to express my regret and apologize. 

I extend my sincerest apologies to all my students, the Department of English and Writing Studies, Western, and the London community. I recognize that my use of the word, regardless of context and intention, is unacceptable in all instances. 

I want my courses to be places where students feel respected, safe, and dignified. As such, I have reached out to services at Western to discuss how I might better handle sensitive and serious material in the classroom. I pledge to do better and I am committed to doing everything I can to regain the trust of my students. 

Sincerely, 

Andrew Wenaus

Sources:

“Prof's N-word Incident Sparks New Anti-racism Group under Shepard,” Emily Tayler, The Gazette, Nov 6, 2019

“Editorial: Days since Western's last Bigoted Incident? Zero.” The Gazette, Oct. 29, 2019.

Post Script:

Unquestioned and unqualified support for the forces of wokeness can be costly. If you don’t believe me, ask the administrators at Oberlin.

So far, those on the right who like to use egregious incidents such as this one to embarrass universities, appear not to have heard about the terrible Western University tragedy. Let us hope they do not find out.